


Exam Week

by FreakyPseudWriter



Series: Iruka Week 2021 [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Coffee, Exams, F/M, Fluff, Iruka Week, Overworked Iruka, School, Secret Crush, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29909316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakyPseudWriter/pseuds/FreakyPseudWriter
Summary: There are some weeks Iruka absolutely dreaded, as they were stressful, hard for the mind and body, and mostly filled with lots of tears from his students.Exam Week.Not to talk about the sleep deprivation and the many, many tests he had to correct. No miracle he lived off of coffee, but that his state would lead to a happy ending...He would've never guessed.
Relationships: Umino Iruka/Original Character(s), Umino Iruka/Original Female Character(s), Umino Iruka/Reader
Series: Iruka Week 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199300
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23
Collections: Comforting as hell, Iruka Week 2021





	Exam Week

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there ^^ Another upload, the first of this week!
> 
> I couldn't wait to post this, so I stayed up until midnight. Finally, some good old Iruka content. I'm so excited ^^ Also, all of my contributions are pretty short-ish, not my usual length, but I think they still honor the characters well enough ;D
> 
> Anyway, have fun with this one! :D

Iruka hadn’t slept well in the last three days. Coffee was running through his veins like blood, yet he didn’t feel the rush of caffeine anymore when the brown ambrosia entered his stomach. He barely managed to eat anything, just living off of snacks and unhealthy, fatty take-out from the store right below his flat. Gods, he would kill for a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen, but there was simply no time.

It was exam week. 

Exam week meant sitting for hours and hours on end in said exams. Exams meant red-stained fingertips from broken pens. Exam week meant consoling students who failed, due to unforeseen circumstances or missing neglicience. Exam week meant sleepless nights spent grading hundreds of tests and trying to decipher the almost illegible handwriting of some children. 

So, if he spent his nights more with the tests and worrying if his own students would make the cut, then so be it. That was the price of being a teacher and Iruka was more than willing to pay. What were some missed meals in comparison to that?

But by the gods, why wasn’t the coffee working anymore?

Begrudgingly, Iruka already went into one of the small, dingy café right across the street from the shinobi academy, where they served food and drinks fitted for the ninja-crowd, including coffee thrice as strong as the civilian-version. Unfortunately, that didn’t do much for Iruka anymore. He barely felt anything, just the way-too-hot beverage sloshing around in his stomach and that wasn’t exactly the effect he was going for. 

He was still grimacing when he re-entered the academy grounds. Gods, everything felt too tight. His pony tail, his clothes, fuck, even the string of his bag slung over his shoulder felt like it wanted to strangle him and cut into his neck every time he moved. 

Iruka was so caught up in his own mess of sensations he didn’t really watch where he was going. His mind was circling around red pencils and disfigured clones, around a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen and his comfiest pajamas and his bed—oh god, his bed, with the wonderfully soft blanket and his three pillows—his thoughts were a confused and befuddled mess, really. Not paying his surroundings a second thought, the man turned a corner, walked around a group of roughhousing children, nodded absent-mindedly at a few students, adjusted his bag once more and—! 

Maybe he actually closed his eyes for a few seconds. Maybe, for just a few precious moments, Iruka fell asleep while walking down the hallway, one arm comfortably propped onto his bag and holding onto the empty coffee mug, the other swinging with every step. Maybe, if he wasn’t overworked and would’ve slept for longer than one consecutive hour, then the following mess could’ve been avoided.

Suddenly, a surprised shout echoed in Iruka’s ears. Something slammed into his chest as a door opened by his side. Papers fluttered everywhere. Books cluttered to the ground, pencils followed quickly. 

“Oh gods, I’m so sorry,” a shaky voice said, “fuck, shit—! Oh no, f—! Don’t listen to me, I’m just rambling. I’m so, so sorry about this mess, I—!”

Only now, Iruka managed to blink and clear his vision. Looking around, he assessed the situation and if he would be just a little bit less overworked and sleep deprived, he would’ve already panicked and bent down on his knees to help you pick up the stuff you dropped. But in the state he was in, his reactions were slow, messy and delayed; not fitting for a shinobi. 

Just his luck. The thought filtered into his brain like a snail racing towards food. Just his luck to bump into you; the one and only person he ever crushed on. For years. Years and years of pining, of useless fretting over the simplest sentences said in your presence, of turning over his words in his head and wondering what he could’ve said to make you notice… Something. Just… something.

Gods, his mind was wandering off again. Iruka must have an out-of-body-experience, as he seemed to watch himself from above bending down and finally helping you to gather all your papers. 

Your smile hit him with the force of a wrecking ball. In an instant, the air was punched out of his lungs. “Thank you,” you whispered to him while Iruka’s hands shuffled over the ground, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t checking if someone was in my way.”

His tongue was iron as he tried to move it, to form useful sentences to apologize as well, preferably without a stutter. “I’m sorry, too. I’m… I’m really tired, and I know it’s a stupid excuse, but I’m tired and not in the right mind at the moment.”

“Of course, you aren’t. It’s exams week.” Another, weaker smile was thrown his way. “You don’t even look like you’re eating well.”

“No,” Iruka struggled to pick up a batch of pencils, “no, I don’t. Can’t at the moment. There’s too much to do.”

“Too many tests, huh?”

“Yeah.” Finally, Iruka was able to grab the stubborn pencils and place them in your open hand. Your skin was warm and soft when his fingers stroked over your palm. “Way too many tests. Lots of corrections and markings to do.”

“That shouldn’t stop you from eating properly, though.”

“I can’t.” Iruka looked into your eyes for just a second, and instantly got lost in them. “Uhm… I mean, I don’t feel hungry at all.”

Your smile turned dry, one side of your mouth pulling higher than the other. “Not even for Ichiraku’s?”

Just when Iruka wanted to deny, his stomach decided to let out a deep, rumbling growl. Like a bear waking up from its winter sleep, loud and demanding to be heard. 

“I hear that,” again, your smile softened and when Iruka dared to look, there was a certain sparkle in your eyes he couldn’t put a name on, “I hear that loud and clear. Come on, I invite you tonight for a good bowl. My treat.”

“Really, you don’t have to…”

“Ah, but I want to.” Did Iruka imagine that or did your hand linger for a second on top of his? No, must be his sleep-riddled mind making up things. With his mind trying to catch up on reality, he watched how you moved out of your crouch, all your documents safely gathered in your arms, and smiled down on him. There was a flush on your face, your hair in weak disarray, clothes ruffled and… 

Simply beautiful to him.

Maybe, the sleep-deprivation and befuddled state of his mind allowed Iruka for the first time in years to let go of his self-imposed barriers and hesitations. The only thing he knew for sure was that his mouth and tongue moved out of their own will, and formed words he would’ve never formed in a clear, focused, controlled mindset. 

“Is that a date?”

Thankfully, the hallway was empty as Iruka’s voice seemed to fill every nook and cranny. You stopped, just as you were about to turn around to continue on your way. And to Iruka’s endless fascination, your face grew even redder, before your eyes—your beautiful, beautiful eyes he couldn’t get enough of—met his once more, this time with another, completely different sparkle in them Iruka recognized almost immediately.

Hesitant hope.

“Would you like it to be one?” you murmured. 

Before he could think, Iruka nodded. Gods, how much he wanted it to be a real date. “Meet me after school?”

“Okay. I would love to.” A last, longing glance, then you vanished around the corner, a certain jump in your step. And Iruka? Iruka was left with his head reeling over what just happened. Quickly, he pinched himself. The pain penetrated the fog for a moment, sharp and uncomfortable. Nope, not a dream. 

Just this once, Iruka was kind of glad the exam week was this stressful. After all, without his sleep deprivation, he probably would’ve never had the guts to ask you out on a real date.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to proofread and can't promise anything ^^''


End file.
